SAMIZDAT

This is about a self-conscious person being put through the ringer of a group interview.

group interview and the yellow fruit

sat on chairs in a circle
pulled so tight our flanks touch,
we form the well-dressed rim of an orifice,
twitching and sweating lightly
as we chew out answers
to home, hobbies and dreams.

i feel under equipped
with my level 1 quirkiness
and counterfeit funny story
(i have never dropped a birthday cake)-
but it gets a few squeaks,
same as everyone else

except Joshua, the 'Flog It!' fan,
with his pectorals
snug in a white t-shirt;
his story 'when i wore my slippers outside'
is a proper monkey-pincher.
but i'm not laughing...Josh.

i'm imagining better worlds of work
in quiet corridors
where the graft is raw
time consumption and pay,
where you never see another soul
to stand against your own...

now we're handed picture cards to rand on,
i get football: teamwork, effort, skill.
and i'm winning as Joshua stares
at a cartoon banana, jabbering
'yellow fruit! yellow fruit!'
i'm thinking yes, yellow yellow fruit.